Biblical references
Text: World English Bible (public domain). The ESV and NKJV are the preferred study translations and are referenced, not reproduced.
21 Daniel continued even to the first year of King Cyrus.
Biblical account
Layer: Biblical text
Daniel continued until the first year of King Cyrus.
Historical overview
Layer: Historical reconstruction · Period: Cyrus's first Babylonian year (538/537 BC)
Babylonian documents count Cyrus's years from the fall of Babylon with an accession year; year 1 began 1 Nisan = 24 Mar 538 (Parker & Dubberstein). Daniel 10:1 dates a later vision to Cyrus's third year, so 1:21 is commonly read as marking the end of the Babylonian era of his service rather than his death.[1]
- Cyrus II (the Great): King[1]
Kingdoms: Achaemenid Persian Empire
Date and chronology derivation
Ranges are computed by the project's deterministic chronology engine from the biblical statements and each model's reign anchors. They are reconstructions, not independent dates.
538 BC – 537 BC
Model-independent (applies under every chronology model) · precision: regnal year
How this range was derived
Earliest bound
- “Daniel continued even to the first year of King Cyrus” — Daniel continues until the first year of King Cyrus (Dan 1:21) in regnal year reign of Cyrus II (the Great) (year 1) [reckoned accession, nisan new year] (Daniel 1:21)[1]Assumption: Counted in Babylonian years (accession year 539/538 not counted): year 1 = 24 Mar 538 – 12 Mar 537. Counting the accession year as year 1 would move the window about five months earlier (Oct 539 – Mar 538).
Latest bound
- “Daniel continued even to the first year of King Cyrus” — Daniel continues until the first year of King Cyrus (Dan 1:21) in regnal year reign of Cyrus II (the Great) (year 1) [reckoned accession, nisan new year] (Daniel 1:21)[1]Assumption: Counted in Babylonian years (accession year 539/538 not counted): year 1 = 24 Mar 538 – 12 Mar 537. Counting the accession year as year 1 would move the window about five months earlier (Oct 539 – Mar 538).
What else was happening? (model-independent)
- Daniel's refusal of the king's food and the ten-day test (Dan 1:8–16): 606 BC – ?
- Nebuchadnezzar's golden image on the plain of Dura (Dan 3:1–7): 603 BC – ?
- Nebuchadnezzar's decree honouring the God of the three Judeans (Dan 3:28–30): 603 BC – ?
- The refusal of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and the fiery furnace (Dan 3:8–27): 603 BC – ?
- Cyrus II (the Great) (reign): 539 BC – 530 BC
- The thirty-day decree and Daniel in the lions' den (Dan 6:4–23): 539 BC – ?
- Darius appoints 120 satraps and three chief officials (Dan 6:1–3, 28): 539 BC – ?
- The accusers punished; Darius's decree honouring the God of Daniel (Dan 6:24–27): 539 BC – ?
- Cyrus's proclamation permitting the return and the rebuilding of the Temple (Ezra 1; 6:3–5): 538 BC – 537 BC
- Gabriel comes at the evening offering with the word of the seventy weeks (Dan 9:20–27): 539 BC – 536 BC
- Daniel reads Jeremiah's seventy years and prays (Dan 9:1–19): 539 BC – 536 BC
- Gedaliah governs from Mizpah and is assassinated (2 Kgs 25:22–26): 589 BC – ?
- Cyrus returns the Temple vessels to Sheshbazzar; the first return (Ezra 1:5–11): 538 BC – 530 BC
- The altar rebuilt in Jerusalem and the Feast of Booths kept (Ezra 3:1–7): 538 BC – 530 BC
- The return of the exiles with Zerubbabel and Jeshua; the list of returnees (Ezra 2): 538 BC – 531 BC
- The foundation of the Second Temple laid (Ezra 3:8–13): 537 BC – 530 BC
- Opposition from the people of the land; the Temple work ceases until Darius's second year (Ezra 4:1–5, 24): 537 BC – 519 BC
- Accusations to Ahasuerus and the Rehum–Shimshai letter to Artaxerxes; the city's rebuilding stopped (Ezra 4:6–23): 537 BC – ?
Claims, evidence and classifications
Each claim is classified on its own. A classification describes the evidence for that specific claim, not for the event as a whole.
Daniel was active at the Babylonian court until Cyrus's first year.
No source outside the Bible mentions Daniel; the evidence fixes only the calendar of Cyrus's first Babylonian year.
Context
- Cyrus year 1 begins 1 Nisan = 24 Mar 538; year 2 begins 12 Mar 537.[1]Strength: direct·Year tables (Cyrus)·Claim checked
Research date 2026-10-13
Evidence by type
The same evidence regrouped by kind of source. Each item names the claims it bears on.
Archaeological evidence
None recorded for this event.
Scientific findings
None recorded for this event.
Ancient documents
None recorded for this event.
Modern news and announcements
None recorded for this event.
Reference works and summaries
- Cyrus year 1 begins 1 Nisan = 24 Mar 538; year 2 begins 12 Mar 537.[1]Bears on: context — “Daniel was active at the Babylonian court until Cyrus's first year.”
Related passages and events
| From | Relationship | To | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| this event | Thematic parallelhigh · Biblical text | Daniel 10:1 | Daniel 10:1 dates a vision to the third year of Cyrus, so 1:21 does not mark Daniel's death. |
| this event | Same periodhigh · Biblical text | Ezra 1:1–4 | Cyrus's decree for the return is dated to his first year. |
Prophetic relationships
No prophecy or proposed-fulfillment relationships have been recorded for this event.
Unanswered questions and research gaps
- The reading of 1:21 alongside 10:1 is to be revisited with Daniel 10.
Research process
1 logged searches
| Date | Query | Where | Useful |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-10-13 | archive.org: Parker & Dubberstein, Babylonian Chronology (SAOC 24)OCR text of the 1942 edition read. | archive.org | 1 |
Sources
- 1.Parker, Richard A., Dubberstein, Waldo H.. Babylonian Chronology 626 B.C.–A.D. 45 (SAOC 24). University of Chicago Press (Oriental Institute). archive.orgClaim checkedAcademic monographRead through the Internet Archive OCR text of the Oriental Institute PDF; OCR has digit errors (e.g. "589" for 539) checked against context. The 1956 revised edition was not consulted.Verification log